Pope Francis’ travels have been characterized by the difference with other pontificates.
The Pope has traveled to many destinations where Christians are a minority e.g. Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Japan, South Korea.
Now it was the turn of Iraq, a country where Christians have become extinct over the years, a trip that seemed that it would not happen, but finally it did.
The Pope was received at Baghdad airport by Prime Minister Mustafa Kazemi.
It is a trip that has a very high degree of risk, yet it has been on the Pope’s mind for a long time.
In Iraq since the US invasion in 2003 and until 2019, the Iraqi Christian community has shrunk by 83%. Of 1.5 million Christians, only 250,000 remain. it is estimated that at least one million of them have fled to Europe or the United States.